I'm very happy to see that Michigan brought their real team against Purdue, not the fraud that played the first three quarters against Oregon and the last three quarters against Iowa. I know they like to disguise coverages, but I've never seen anything like what they did Saturday - there were several occasions where I counted ten in the box. Guys were moving up and back like some kind of hyperactive chorus line. I know it confused Orton - hell, it confused me!
It was clear Michigan had absolutely zero respect for Purdue's running game - they played with five DBs most of the time and six DBs most of the rest of the time. One of the Michigan network commentators (I think it was Jim Brandstatter, but it could have been Frank Beckman) told a story after the game about the 1980 Purdue game, where then-DC Bill McCartney wanted to play 5- and 6-DB formations to slow down Purdue's passing game (wow, history repeating itself). He talked Bo into it, but was warned, "Dammit, Bill, if they run the ball on us, YOU'RE FIRED!"
The way they played Saturday made me think of the '97 team - crushing defense with an offense that's exactly as good as it has to be (and doesn't make any mistakes). I hear Michigan State runs a similar offense to Purdue's, so that's a good sign (Although I hope they didn't give away everything they have planned on D).
Final Memo to Boilerfan: there is no 'Big House' curse. Being beaten 35-3 Saturday (and by an average of 24.5 points over the last thirty-odd years) is not "being cursed." It's "getting beaten like a runaway circus chimp on a biennial basis."
Leave a comment